Putin stole their work, but now they want to return them

Vladimir Putin has done something that seems to be completely at first glance.

Last year, the Russian president signed a decree allowing the seizure of the Russian subsidiary of the Italian heating systems manufacturer Ariston. Transfer the company’s control of the company to GazProm, which is the Russian -owned Russian energy giant arm.

But on Wednesday, Putin signed another presidential decree that reflects this decision and transferred the company’s ownership to the Italians.

“We intend to resume activities with our Russian local leadership, fully adhere to the existing sanctions, and continue our legacy in the country,” said Paulo Merlone, CEO of Ariston Group.

At the nominal value, it appears that the door is opened for Western companies to return The assets seized by the Kremlin After pouring Russian forces on the Ukrainian border in 2022.

Western companies have suffered losses of $ 167 billion (129 billion pounds) in Russia since Putin has launched a large -scale invasion, according to the analysis of the Kiev College of Economics (KSE).

Trade sanctions sparked a wave of companies ’exits, while multinational companies have seized their assets and arrested employees. Many others were forced to sell with 80 % discounts.

Putin’s tactics sparked a wave of companies and legal demands, as companies are trying to recover their money. Until recently, a little hope would seem to have succeeded in extracting anything from Russia.

Now, however, the chances of returning to Russia – if not extracting the appropriate payment of stolen assets – have risen with Donald Trump at the White House and new messages from US officials about reopening economic relations with Russia.

“A number of American companies will return to the Russian market early in the second quarter of the year.”

Some Western companies have already laid the basis for a return.

The French auto industry company Renault sold all its shares in Renault Russia and its 67.69 % interest in Eftovaz Russia in May 2022, but this agreement includes a option for Renault to decrease its interest in Avtovaz, which can exercise for six years.

Luka de Miu, Renault President, Last month, he refused to exclude a return to Russia. However, officials have since said that the car maker will need to pay $ 1.3 billion to do so.

Executive officials should also be cautious: analysts warn that Putin is using Western companies as a bug in his games with Europe and the United States. The lost western assets and money have become a bargaining chip for negotiations on a possible peace agreement on Ukraine – and a way to divide Europe.

“With the spread of sanctions, the Kremlin has increasingly concluded that Russian assets of multinational companies are a useful guarantee of frozen assets abroad,” says Ian Massi, at S-RM Consultans.

Europe and the United States have frozen about $ 300 billion in Russia’s foreign assets, which disturbed the Kremlin. Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) is fighting Austria with a fine of 2 billion euros (1.7 billion pounds) imposed by a Russian court in January, which officials said was compensation for the frozen assets in Austria.

“We only had 10 minutes to make our case in court,” says Christophe Danz, a RBI spokesman. The defendant was surrounded by armed persons wearing the cuisavia. RBI appeals the ruling and has the next court session on April 24.

“The presence of Western companies in Russia and the type of financial lever granted (Putin) to some European countries is one of the most useful tools in the Kremlin Tools Fund for years,” says Patrick Cyliel, who manages the risk of controlling consulting.

With Ariston’s decision, Putin may also try to divide Europe by indicating that countries that make a more soft line to Moscow may regain their origins, he says.

“I think it is quite reasonable for Putin to be happy to allow some Western companies to restore their assets in a way that drives a wedge among the various members of the European Union.

“Italy was sometimes a kind of soft goal for Russia. It was usually among the most friendly Russian regions of the European Union, and the Italian business community has always been very active in Moscow.”

Putin’s response to the tidal wave of Western sanctions that struck Russia after the war began an evil attack on the state -working foreign companies. Of the 167 billion dollars since 2022, it has lost 57 billion dollars by 30 companies that have been seized by their assets by force, according to the KSE Institute.

These included the French yogurt maker Danone and Danish Breweer Carlsberg, both of whom have since sold their Russian origins and reduced their losses.

Putin also imposed blocks on companies trying to escape. Until last fall, companies that sell assets in Russia had to obtain 50 percent on the sale price and pay a 15 percent exit tax. In October, Russia raised the opponent to 60 % and exit fees to 35 %.

Transactions are also undergoing a long approval that includes the Ministry of Finance. It may take 12 months and is often unsuccessful. In other words, many companies are actually considered a ransom.

Western companies are fighting. The Ariston case was supported by the great pressure of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. More companies are trying to attack through the legal system.

Wintershall Dea, the German oil and gas producer, started arbitration measures against the Russian Federation after Putin signed the ceremonies that pave the company among all its five Russian joint projects, including the Nord Stream pipeline.

The Finnish Fortum Fortum company began arbitration against Russia in February 2024 for compensation for illegal seizure after its assets were acquired by the presidential decree in 2023.

“Fortome has since lost all the supervision and control of the assets, and we are not aware of those who manage these assets and we have no other asset information.”

These tactics can be legally successful. In June 2024, the German Energy Company UNIPER won a $ 14 billion arbitration virtue against the state -owned energy giant in Gazprom. But there is a big difference between winning the court ruling and extinguishing it.

“It looks good, it looks good, but the prizes followed by this nature in the current environment are more symbolic in nature,” Massey says. “Enforcement and recovery is very difficult exercises in hostile conditions.”

If Western companies are not able to obtain money in exchange for the companies that they lost, will return to Russia be an applicable option?

There is still $ 194 billion in foreign assets in Russia, and Trump suggested that it would give companies the green light to resume operations there.

In February, the US Secretary of State Marko Rubio said there may be “incredible opportunities” to the United States’ business in Russia.

“Along the way until Donald Trump was elected, companies were lining up to obtain approvals (to leave Russia),” says Alan Cartachekin, who was previously running the Moscow Office of the Deboye & Pleeppton attorney.

“A lot has changed. Now, you have an American president who says we must develop economic relations with Russia and the investors who notice him. No leader in the Western world has said that since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.”

He adds that hedge funds explore how they can make investments in the Russian stock market. “They want to put a bet on a possible peace deal.”

Sewell says that other companies are looking for the feasibility of selling unpopular goods, such as food, in Russia again.

Just three years after the loss of billions in Russia, Western companies are considering returning.

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